Choices
by Brainiac5
Summary: Animatedseries... When the Legion is called to investigate a robbery, Superman is captured and used as a hostage to force the Legion's departure. In a race against time, Brainy is forced to decide between his duty… and his friend.
1. Prologue

Prologue---

Superman was sitting at the console, feeling a bit bored. True, one shouldn't wish for people to be hurt, but it would be nice to have some action, even if just this once.

As if by some quirk of fate, the emergency contact light glowed. Brainy, beside him, immediately turned on the viewscreen.

"Brainiac 5, of the Legion of Superheroes," He said.

"This is Tylew Randor, President of the Interdenominational Bank on Elindor," a man with gray-white hair said breathlessly. Brainy could hear the others enter behind him, almost silently.

'Bank on Elindor' was one way to say it, but as Brainy remembered, another way of saying it would be the Bank IN Elindor, as the entire planet was one gigantic maze of vaults and currencies.

"We have had mass break-ins in the past few days, and hundreds of thousands of vaults have been completely emptied!" Randor continued. "The strangest thing is, the intruder has emptied the most secure and full vaults. He's been working his way up, and I'm beginning to get worried, as our security has had no luck in stopping him. So, we've decided to come to you for help."

"We'll be there," Brainy promised, and turned off the viewscreen. He spun around and faced the group.

"Well, the first question that comes to my mind is this," Superman said. "How did this guy know which vaults were more protected, and which ones had more in them?"

He had a point. "Exactly," Brainy began. "The vaults are not arranged in any specific order, because they are intentionally placed at random."

Lightning Lad raised an eyebrow. "So, how does that effect Superman's question?"

"It means that while one very important vault may be placed next to an unimportant one, another vault may be surrounded by two other important vaults. It all depends on the placing."

"I still don't get it," Lightning Lad said.

"If the vaults aren't arranged by any sort of order, how do you know whether or not you're getting valuables or someone's old gym clothes?" Brainy pointed out, annoyed.

"Exactly!" Superman said.

"Hmm," Timberwolf murmured. "Also, how does this person get past security personnel, and how would they know where other security devices are?"

"And, if they have superpowers, who's to say they can't just look through all the doors and figure out what to steal and where security is anyway?" Saturn offered.

All valid questions, to which no one had any real answers.

"Well, I suppose we should get going, because the sooner we investigate, the sooner we get answers," Superman said.

"There's only one problem, Superman," Brainy said.

"What's that?"

"Elindor orbits a red sun."

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A/N: Ok, this is my very first fanfic, EVER EVER EVER and if it's lame, please tell me. It's kind of boring in the first chapter, but I PROMISE it will get better. You can tell me it's lame, but try not to flame, pleez? Thanks...


	2. Chapter 1: First Impressions

Chapter 1: First Impressions

"Thank you all for coming," Randor said, pacing nervously behind his desk. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Probably go to your room and cry," Lightning Lad muttered. Superman elbowed him in the ribs. "Ow!" He complained.

"I will have someone show you around…" Randor said, turning around and looking anxiously about the room. "Oh, where _did_ she go?" He asked.

The Superheroes exchanged confused glances.

"Um… where did _who _go?" Timberwolf finally asked.

"My niece, Kytori. She was just here… Oh! Yes! Now I remember!" He exclaimed. "I sent her to pick up my lunch. She'll be here any second, you can just sit down."

Once again, the Superheroes exchanged glances, then settled down on a few of the eight padded benches in the room.

"He seems absentminded," Lightning Lad whispered, glancing behind them to Tylew Randor. "Maybe he accidentally told someone about the vaults?"

Brainy shook his head. "Even an absentminded man would know better than to do something like _that._"

"It was a thought," Lightning Lad said.

Moments later, a young woman bustled into the room. "Here's your lunch, uncle… Who are you guys?" She demanded, turning and placing her hands on her hips, glaring at the Legion representatives.

"We're here to help your uncle figure out who's been-" three hands cut off Lightning Lad's careless giveaway. Lightning Lad frowned, and then rolled his eyes.

Brainy, Superman and Timberwolf slowly dropped their hands from Lightning Lad's mouth.

"We're here to help your uncle figure out who has been doing something that requires utmost skill and secrecy." Brainy said.

She sighed. "Like my great-aunt's apple strudel recipe, made the old-fashioned way."

"Everything's better that way," Timberwolf muttered.

"I'm not one to argue with that assessment," Superman replied.

"Kytori, would you mind showing these young people around the bank?" Randor asked, using a sweeping gesture to take in Brainy, Superman, Timberwolf, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl.

She shrugged. "Sure, why not? It's not like I have anything better to do."

Randor sighed. "Kytori…" He paused. "Well, I suppose arguing doesn't change much. Just show them around, and answer any questions they have."

"Sure thing," She replied.

"Well, how are we going to ask about the likelihood of a robbery if we can't tell her we're trying to find a robber?" Lightning Lad whispered to Brainy, repeating his argument for probably the eighteenth time.

"Be very, very subtle, then," Brainy said, giving up with a sigh. "But it would be easier if you kept your eyes and ears open, because that's less suspicious."

"Don't worry," Lightning Lad replied. "I was _born_ to play the part of Mr. Subtle."

"And this is another boring vault," Kytori said to them, gesturing at the object. "Any questions?"

"Yeah, how do you guys keep these things from being opened by the wrong people?"

"What, like being robbed?" Kytori asked, turning to face Lightning Lad.

"Oh no, I wouldn't say that… um… well…okay, yeah. Robbed." Lightning Lad said.

Brainy dropped his head into his hands with a smack. "Nice going… Captain obvious," He mumbled.

"What was that?" Lightning Lad demanded.

"…Nothing," Brainy said.

"Yeah, I'm sure it was nothing," Lightning Lad retorted.

"Well, I guess as far as robberies go, it'd be nearly impossible."

Lightning Lad snorted, and Superman and Timberwolf whacked him.

"Ow!" Lightning Lad shouted.

"Guys, stop." Saturn Girl chided.

Kytori shrugged and continued with her explanation. "See, there's a miniature camera in each and every lock, and it identifies the person coming up. Also, if that camera doesn't work, there's still the retinal scan."

Brainy nodded, trying to cement every word into his memory.

"And when we're closed we have laser tripwires, Infra red cameras, security teams at every post, and DNA scanners. In fact, this is probably the dumbest place in the galaxy to rob." Kytori folded her arms to accentuate that point.

"Dumbest, huh?" Lightning Lad asked.

"Definitely. Now come on, I need to show you guys the rest of this lousy place."

"What do you think?" Superman asked when the group had gathered back in the ship, after the tour.

"I think it's impenetrable." Lightning Lad said.

"It _does_ look pretty secure," Timberwolf agreed.

"Kytori was a bit unsettled, but that could just be her normal state of mind," Saturn Girl said.

"Plus, she's so grumpy. She probably _is _like that all the time!" Lightning Lad exclaimed.

"Part of the reason she was grumpy might have been because you kept insinuating her uncle must be the thief," Timberwolf pointed out.

"Seriously! He knows the place, it should be easy for him to rob it!"

"But," Saturn Girl said, "His distress was real. Also, why would he call us if he was the thief? It doesn't really make sense."

"I agree," Brainy said. "We need to look for other options. For example, who says there is only one thief? There might be someone in on it in the security department, or it might be a whole group of thieves. We don't really know anything."

"Right, so let's go take a walk around the bank ourselves, take a look at things the way we want to, without worrying that our tour guide could be the thief." Superman said. "We'll try and piece together information."

"I think I'll question Mr. Randor," Brainy said. "And see what may -or may not be- unique about these thefts."

"So, you say the thief has been going for better and better vaults. Any idea how he knows it's better?" Brainy asked, leaning forward.

"No, I don't see how he could know." Randor said, shaking his head vigorously.

"Anything strangely… different about these robberies?"

"Well, we don't have any record of it on the security tapes. It looks like nothing ever happened, yet, the vaults are empty. I just don't understand it!" Randor dropped his head into his hands.

"Have you had any technicians check the tapes?" Brainy asked. This was an important question…

"Why?"

Brainy slumped in relief. "Never mind. Could I please review your security tapes?"

"Of course, but… why?"

Brainy smiled inwardly. Outwardly, he shrugged. "It could be helpful."

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A/N: There. That looks better now. Um, yes, R&R please... To the people I told would be posting and then I didn't, I'd been kind of busy with school wrapping up, and summer chores... I barely had time for writing!!


	3. Chapter 2: Searching

Chapter 2: Searching

Brainy stared at the screen, his eyes taking in as much information as possible on fast-forward. Nothing. Absolutely NOTHING. But wait…

He had already passed the times of three robberies, when he got an idea.

Skipping ahead a few weeks, he skipped to the time when the Legion took the tour. Strangely enough, there was no footage of that, either. So, either something was blocking the camera from recording, or it was being fed a loop… But how, and when did it start?

Brainy needed to know to support his already growing theory…

----------

"You know, why did Brainy get the easy job?" Lightning Lad complained, glaring at the vault doors suspiciously. "I mean, how are we supposed to keep the thief from coming when we don't even know which vaults to guard?"

"We divide and conquer," Superman said. "I'll take that hall, Timberwolf takes, that-"

"Wait, wait. Superman, you don't have your powers. Someone's sticking with you." Timberwolf said. "So, shall I stick with him, or should-"

"No, no, I'll be ok," Superman said. "Really."

"You better, or Brainy will have our heads," Lightning Lad muttered.

Saturn Girl sighed. "You know he doesn't do that."

"No, he's much more…" Lightning lad crept up behind her with clawing hands. "_Sneaky_…" He hissed in he ear. She turned, raised her eyebrows and stepped aside.

"I'm trying to be serious now," She said. "We have absolutely nothing to go on, aside from the fact that important vaults- ones, I might add, we don't even know the locations of- have been robbed. I think our time would be better spent looking for clues."

Superman sighed loudly.

"Don't worry, there's plenty you can do without powers. Besides, this is more like a Brainy case anyway, what with security and sneaking past devices and stuff," Lightning Lad said off-handedly.

"And Lightning Lad's powers won't help us in searching for clues either, so as far as this goes, he's not going to help in that area either. I'd say this might also be Saturn Girl's area, because the thief is unknown, and if anyone could figure out who, I'd place my bets on her," Timberwolf said, placing a hand on Superman's shoulder.

---------

Superman and Timberwolf slowly strolled down the fifteenth -or was it eighteenth? - hallway.

"See anything?" Timberwolf asked for the fifteenth (or was it eighteenth?) time.

"No, actually." Superman said. "And I don't think we're going to find anything in the next hall either, because the most security teams are on the other side, and even I can figure out that more guards means more money."

"Unless someone wanted to fake potential thieves out," Timberwolf said.

"If they really wanted to fake everyone out, they'd put all the worthless stuff and guards over there and put all the valuables in one spot." Superman declared.

"Wait, what did you say?" Timberwolf asked suddenly, turning to face him.

"I said I'd put all the worth-"

"No, about putting the valuables in one spot. What if you're right?"

"Gee, don't make it sound so surprising," Superman grumbled.

"I wasn't. Anyway, what if the reason we don't know which vaults were robbed is because he didn't want to show us all the valuables were really in the same spot?" Timberwolf suggested.

As Timberwolf opened his mouth to continue, Superman broke in. "I think I see what you're getting at! Regardless of the security, if the thieves think the vaults are placed at random, then they won't try and break in. It discourages them!"

"But if he told us that all the valuables were in the same place and we let it slip, then he would have lots more thieves on his hands!" Timberwolf finished before Superman could.

"We need to tell Brainy," Superman said, turning to his communicator.

----------

"You're wrong."

"WHAT?!?" Timberwolf and Superman cried in one voice.

"Don't say anything about this to anyone. You'll be laughed all the way to Mantax V. Oh, _and_ Lightning Lad will never let you live it down." Brainy said.

"Are you feeling alright? You look… strained. And this makes sense, Brainy!!" Superman argued.

"I've heard your theory twice now, and I'm sorry to say that I still adhere to my original assessment: you are wrong. I'm sorry Superman, I know you feel useless, but please try not to distract me from my work." With that, Brainy shut off the communicator.

"That was rude. He must not be very happy right now. Maybe when he's taking a break?" Timberwolf suggested.

"I'm not inventing theories to make me feel more important," Superman mumbled.

"_I_ know that, and _you_ know that, but Brainy just doesn't understand you can adapt to circumstances so well."

"Why?"

"Probably because he's tired, for one. Second of all, he's… tired, and he's tired."

"And…" Superman fished.

"And he's working himself to exhaustion reviewing tapes until his eyes explode." Timberwolf offered. "Yeah, exploding his eyes watching empty hallways that _shouldn't_ be empty. So that stresses him, and then he gets crabby and takes it out on people who- you haven't figured this out?"

Superman grinned. "I have," He said, "I just wanted to be sure I was right."

"You're right." Timberwolf said. "So you don't have to worry. Now, let's figure out which vaults are the valuable ones!"

Brainy sighed. That didn't go quite as well as he'd planned. He stood and turned to the nearest computer monitor. Time to get back to work…

--------

Alone in the dark corridors, seated near one of the many vaults, Superman was waiting for a chance to prove himself.

"_Ok, calm down,"_ He whispered to himself. _"Most likely the thief has run off, hearing that we're here."_

Just then, Superman heard footsteps walking determinedly down the hall, towards him. He winced and pressed against the wall, tensing as the footsteps came closer.

"What do you happen to think you're doing?!" Timberwolf demanded, walking closer and placing his hands on his hips like an agitated mother.

"_Shhh!"_ Superman shushed, glancing around anxiously.

"Get up," Timberwolf said. "We're going back to the room, and you're _staying_ in your bed this time."

"_But-"_ Superman argued, still whispering.

"Superman," Timberwolf growled. "I _wasn't_ asking."

"Fine," Superman agreed irritably, standing. He tried to take a step forward, but Timberwolf grabbed him and held him rigid.

"_Someone's here_," Timberwolf whispered tersely.

"_We should get flat, against the wall,"_ Superman suggested quietly. _"And hope they don't want the vault we're hiding in front of." _He glanced around, but with almost no light, he could only see the outline of Timberwolf and mere inches beyond the vault he was standing by.

"_Right,"_ Timberwolf agreed.

They pressed flat against the wall as the sound of footsteps echoed from far away.

But they were coming closer…

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A/N : For some reason I don't feel I'm doing the plot justice. :-( Pleez R&R...


	4. Chapter 3: Making Observations

Chapter 3: Making Observations

Superman concentrated on not moving, because he had to keep his mind on something. And he didn't want his mind to dwell on his worst possible blunder in coming down here.

If the thief was between them and the nearest set of doors, they had no escape route…

The gloom of standing beneath thousands of tons of earth and rock was only half as bad as realizing some thief with strange abilities was approaching you, and you were powerless.

"_Sorry for dragging you into this,_" Superman quietly apologized to Timberwolf.

"_I'm glad you aren't here by yourself, now shush!"_ Timberwolf breathed.

The footsteps neared their hiding place. The heroes scarcely remembered to breathe.

As the footsteps passed, Superman let out a silent breath of relief.

"_Come on,"_ Timberwolf whispered, "_as long as we're here, we might as well watch."_ And he slunk down the hall in the direction the thief had gone.

Superman silently followed.

----------

Lightning Lad lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, trying to decide if he should go find Timberwolf or not. He'd left about twenty minutes ago.

Or was it ten?

Maybe he'd fallen asleep and it'd been an hour, in which case, Timberwolf might be back in bed already.

Lightning Lad groaned, rolling over to face the wall. Who cared, anyway?

But… Timberwolf _was_ part of the team… and Lightning Lad knew that he should check, just to be sure. But he just couldn't shake the nagging question: what if Timberwolf had only gone to the bathroom?

Lightning Lad thought back to the creaking door. It had been directly across the room from him, and the bathroom door was… the direction of his feet, not parallel to him.

So if Timberwolf was trying to use the restroom, he'd taken the wrong door. And Timberwolf wasn't ignorant. Maybe he was sleepwalking.

That could be a problem, with security and thieves running around…

If he didn't get back in ten minutes, Lightning Lad would just have to get up and turn on the light, to see if he was still in the bed, or actually gone.

But, to make sure he got up in ten minutes, he would have to keep himself awake…

---------

Timberwolf and Superman leaned around the corner of the hall, expecting anything.

There, about twenty feet away was the thief. He was using a small white light to see, and that same light gave Superman and Timberwolf the visibility to realize he was wearing a mask, and a black, all-over body suit, somewhat like Ninja in earth movies.

He knelt by the vault, and pulled out some sort of device, and inserted it into one of the five locks. Seconds later, he removed it and placed it in the next one, and then the next.

When he had finished with that, he gingerly opened the access port and shined the light onto it. Superman and Timberwolf were then able to see the burglar wore some sort of eyewear, possibly the sort that could see normally invisible things, without the special dusting powder.

Such technology was hard to come by, but it _did_ exist.

Timberwolf slowly stepped backwards, as did Superman. Together they slipped away, exchanging glances.

Superman mouthed "BRAINY" and Timberwolf nodded. He turned on the communicator to contact him when-

"_Freeze_," A cold and mechanical voice ordered.

Timberwolf froze, as did Superman. Superman, however, was facing the opposite direction of Timberwolf, face towards their opponent, the thief.

"_Now, if you want your friend to live,"_ He said, addressing Superman,_ "Come forward, and Remove your communicator."_

Superman slowly did so, carefully watching the pistol pointed at Timberwolf's head the entire time.

"_Good. Now, come here."_ the thief ordered.

"Who are you?" Superman asked.

"_Call me… No-name,"_ the thief answered. Without warning, he turned and shot Superman in the chest. Timberwolf yelled in surprise, turning on the attacker… But the thief was already gone.

And so was Superman.

----------

Lightning Lad did not want to get up. Not now, not ever. But it had been eleven minutes, and he had to get up sometime.

Groaning, he rolled out of bed and bounded across the room in three steps, flicking on the light. He immediately shaded his eyes.

"Sorry about this, Superman, Brainy," He said. "I needed to see if Ti-" He stopped and looked around the room. "If Timberwolf was…still here. Superman? Brainy? Where is everyone?!?"

----------

Timberwolf crumpled to the floor, the very essence of misery. "Why didn't I do something?" He demanded, slamming a fist against the unyielding walls of the bank. "There must have been something, so why didn't I do it?"

Slowly he dropped his head into his hands.

----------

"Timberwolf? Brainy?! SUPERMAN!!! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!?!?" Lightning Lad's voice echoed throughout the passages.

"I'm right here, Lightning Lad. No need to be alarmed." Timberwolf heard Brainy reply from somewhere inside the maze of corridors.

"Yeah, but where's Superman? And Timberwolf?!"

Timberwolf stood and moved down the hall to where it connected with the main corridor. "I'm right here," He said.

"Where's Superman?" Brainy asked.

Timberwolf winced. "The explanation is a long and hard one. We'd be better off to talk in our room."

----------

Brainy cradled his head in his hands, rocking back and forth. Otherwise, he was uncomfortably silent. Timberwolf was biting his lip, and Lightning Lad wore an expression that made him look as though someone had slugged him in the gut. Hard.

"You say he snuck out?" Brainy finally asked, head still in his hands.

"Yeah. But I heard him leave, and tried to follow. I finally found him but-"

"-Yeah, we know. Thief comes, thief shoots, and thief leaves with Superman." Lightning Lad said dismally.

Brainy groaned, the sound muffled by his hands. "Now do you understand?"

Timberwolf glared at Brainy. "Understand what? All I understand is that your cold response to Superman's theory made him feel that he had something to prove!"

Lightning Lad blinked. "Did I miss something?"

Timberwolf sighed. "Superman and I-"

Brainy sat up. "You boldly proclaimed my exact theory in the loudest of voices near any number of devices designed to record conversations such as the one we were having." He shook his head. "I did it for you. I didn't want you to be hurt, and I figured whoever was listening to the bugs would feel safer if I told you to forget it."

Timberwolf shook his head. "What else have you been keeping from us?"

"Things I still have to keep to myself," Brainy replied, abruptly standing and striding out.

The door thudded shut behind him and all was silent for a moment.

"Kinda' makes you think of the infamous "Robot Revolution", doesn't it? Y'know, 'I know things that I must not tell you'…? Get it?" Lightning Lad asked, quoting a recent and (according to Brainy) "Annoyingly inaccurate" movie.

Timberwolf plopped on his bed, pulling the covers over his head. A muffled "Good night, Lightning Lad," was heard from somewhere beneath the heavy blankets.

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A/N: This one always make me feel sick, becuz I never manage to write dramatic tension the way I want to! It always leaves me feeling like a slug in a storm drain... or something like that. R&R!!!!!!!!


	5. Chapter 4: Missing Information

Chapter 4: Missing Information

"Anyone seen Brainy?" Lightning Lad asked Timberwolf and Saturn Girl, the latter having just been given the details about Superman.

"No," Saturn girl said, looking a little confused.

"Uh-uh," Timberwolf answered, shaking his head.

Lightning Lad frowned. "That's funny, I haven't either. Did he come back last night, do you think?"

"No, the door would have woken me," Timberwolf replied.

"So, where is he?" Lightning Lad asked, looking concerned.

"I don't know," Timberwolf said, not looking particularly confident either.

"I don't know where he is any more than you guys, but Brainy can take care of himself," Saturn Girl said.

"He's probably trying to come up with some sort of way to kick me out of the Legion," Timberwolf hypothesized.

"That's not very fair," Lightning Lad said. "It sounds like it's mostly his fault, anyway."

Timberwolf sighed. "If we had just left instead of investigating-"

"-And why did you investigate? To _help Brainy_. See? Not your fault." Lightning Lad replied.

"I don't think it works that way," Timberwolf argued.

"It doesn't," Saturn Girl said. "And yes, but you didn't MAKE Superman sneak out in the first place. Neither did Brainy. The fault, then, belongs first and foremost to Superman."

"I can see how that would make sense," Lightning Lad said, stroking his chin.

----------

Brainy stood, staring at the computer before him. What was it that was nagging at the back of his mind? He had missed a clue, he was sure. But where, and how?

Maybe he should ask Timberwolf for details about the thief… But, Superman had been captured because of his quest for information. Perhaps he would be better off without…

"Hey, Brainy!!" Lightning Lad called, opening the door. "You in there-? Oh! Yeah, you are!" He turned and leaned out the door. "I FINALLY FOUND HIM!!!" He shouted to whoever was outside."You could at least leave us a note, or something!" Lightning Lad said, addressing Brainy this time. He stopped suddenly, looking disgruntled. "Oh, great," He said. "I'm starting to sound like my mother!"

"You do have somewhere around half of her genetics woven into your DNA," Brainy said. "It would be logical that you could sound like her at least once or twice."

Lightning Lad gave him a look. "You know what I mean."

"And I meant what I said," Brainy replied.

----------

"I can't believe how crazy your guys' night must have been. Mine was relatively… quiet, compared to yours," Saturn Girl said when the four heroes had finally gathered to discuss any possible course of action.

"So, what _did_ happen?" Lightning Lad asked.

"Well, I heard a few noises, your sink once, and a few voices. Then I fell asleep and didn't wake up."

"Not even to Lightning Lad's yelling?" Brainy asked.

"No, not even to that," She said, smiling.

"So, what are we going to do about Superman?" Timberwolf asked.

"At the moment, I would suggest doing nothing. We try and find the thief, and when we do so, we find Superman." Brainy said. "It's simple really."

"Unless the thief doesn't talk," Lightning Lad said.

"He doesn't have to," Brainy pointed out. "We have Saturn Girl."

"…True," Lightning Lad said.

Moments later, a firm knock sounded on the door.

Timberwolf stood. "I'll get it," He said, and opened the door.

Tylew Randor stood outside. "There is a communication for you."

"From whom?" Brainy asked.

"I don't know. Perhaps you should see for yourself," Randor turned and strode down the hallway, obviously expecting the group to follow him.

Not wanting to disappoint him, they did.

----------

When they arrived, Randor abruptly left the room, giving them privacy.

The screen flickered on, and there, staring at them were the eyes of the thief, or "No-name" as he called himself. He was still wearing the ninja-like outfit, but he wan't wearing eyepieces, and Brainy could see No-name's dark eyes glaring at him.

"_Hello, Legionnaires… You seem to be missing a member,_" He chuckled in what he must have hoped sounded evil. (Mostly it just sounded like a malfunctioning vacuum cleaner, but more on that later.) "_My necessary precaution. If you don't leave in 12 hours, I will do something terrible to him. In another six hours, I will do something more terrible. When the time reaches 48 hours, I will kill him. Of course, by that time, there might not be much left of him!_" No-name cackled like a deranged crow for a moment before continuing. "_Better pack your bags!_"

"I'm not sure you're the one to decide that," Brainy retorted, ignoring the glares he received from the others. "We promised we would find the thief, and we will find you, _and_ Superman." And with that, he terminated the communication link.

"What was that all about?!" Lightning Lad demanded.

"Would you leave Superman in the hands of a dangerous criminal?" Brainy asked simply. "We stay until we find him, end of discussion."

"Who put you in charge, huh?!" Lightning Lad demanded.

"No one, yet. But so far I seem to have the most level head, and it would seem logical for me to take control. 'No-name' should have known better. You see, you never wound someone's friend or threaten them if you want the other to leave, because the tendency is to protect them. What he should have done was taken something valuable to us, like our communicators and left us unable to communicate with the rest of the Legion."

"Speaking of which, where are the communicators? We need to report this to the rest of the Legion, like you said." Lightning Lad declared.

"They should be in the room," Brainy said.

"They aren't," Timberwolf said, walking towards them. "I walked ahead of you guys to report this to the Legion, but all our special access communicators are gone."

"So now what?!" Lightning Lad shouted, shoving Brainy. "We don't have Superman, our communicators, or a CLUE of where to look for either! We have nothing!!"

"Then I guess I'll just have to work on that, won't I?" Brainy said, brushing Lightning Lad aside and retreating into the nearest security booth.

* * *

A/N: Many chapters now. I was very, very stuck and very, very annoyed with myself for being stuck, but I think I'm over the hump. From now on, it should be just 'I thought I could's. (That's a reference to the little engine that could, in case no one recognized that...) 


	6. Chapter 5: Apprehended!

Chapter 6: Apprehended!

Waking up was a painful process for Superman. Obviously, the Thief had taken no risks, incapacitating him on Heavy Stun with his neuron-impulse weapon. Turning his head, Superman realized he was in a room… A box with no windows and a door on one side. As he struggled to rise, Superman processed this information, hoping he could at least recognize where he was.

But he had no such luck.

----------

Brainiac 5 was not entirely sure how he was going to proceed. He had a few speculations, but speculations weren't going to find Superman, were they? Shaking his head, he glanced at the same computer console he'd been seated before only moments ago.

His eyes focused on the keyboard for a short moment, and then skipped over the few objects lying on the computer terminal. He glanced around the room, trying to focus on why he'd come here.

Staring at the security camera for a moment, Brainiac 5 felt rather miffed. Surely he hadn't missed something, but _was_ there something he'd overlooked in forming his conjecture? There was something wrong with it, he knew that. But he didn't know what, or why, not yet.

Finally sitting down, the android resigned himself to another long stretch of intense deliberation.

----------

Superman groaned. How on _Earth_ could he be so utterly, impossibly and hopelessly _stupid?!_ Not only had he endangered himself, but had also created an almost no-win hostage situation for absolutely no reason other than to _prove_ himself to Brainy. Well, all he'd proved was how completely ignorant he really was. Why, why hadn't he just listened to Timberwolf?

Glaring at the door which he'd attempted to break down about sixteen times, Clark couldn't help but wonder who had kidnapped him. It was frustrating not to know. Wrinkling his nose, he sighed and pounded his fist on the cot, the only piece of furniture in the room. He didn't know where he was, or if he was even on the planet anymore.

If only he'd… Well, "if only" wasn't going to get him anywhere, was it? Shaking his head, Clark decided if nothing else, he could work on his theory about the bank robber.

He ignored the critical voice in his head, telling him he shouldn't think about it, it was what had initially gotten him in trouble. Closing his eyes, Clark focused , trying to remember every clue he knew of, and even ones he hadn't considered before…

----------

Brainiac 5 stared at the computer with almost ferocity, glaring at the screen as he viewed the security footage on fast-forward. His eyes were able to take in all the information faster than the human eye, so hopefully that meant he could finish faster. As Brainy watched, he began to notice a strange cycle. He rewound a bit and then fast-forwarded a few weeks. Sure enough, the people walked in and did the exact same thing, every single time. They walked exactly the same, paused in all the same places, turned their heads in the exact same manner every time. For one person, it could have been normal. But over eighty people? Yeah, right.

When Brainiac 5 examined the footage of their exploration of the bank, strangely enough, there was no one else anywhere in the bank. No one, even though every other time there had been people wandering through and opening vaults.

Strange… but finally, pieces were starting to fit together. The puzzle was nearly complete…

----------

"It's now been four hours," Lighting Lad declared. "Brainy hasn't shown up for at least three, and I'm still clueless as to who the thief is, or how they rob this place."

"It's not as though any of us know much," Saturn Girl said.

"Very true," Timberwolf admitted.

"All right, who votes for me going and asking Brainy what his latest theory is?" Lightning Lad asked, trying to think of another way to combat their boredom. "I've heard three heads are better than four… wait, no, I mean…"

Just then, the door opened. "I think we have no-name," Brainy said, with something that resembled a relived smile on his face.

----------

"So you think you've discovered the thief?" Tylew Randor looked relieved, yet still a little harried… but by now, it would have seemed unusual to see a different expression on his face. "What about your friend?" He asked. "Do you know where he is?"

"We will," Brainiac 5 replied.

"What about the thief though? How do you plan to catch him?" Tylew asked, sounding genuinely interested.

"A simple sting," Lightning Lad said. "We catch him in the act."

Tylew Randor nodded in agreement. "But how do you know where the vaults he'll rob are?"

"I took the liberty of accessing the bank's internal files," Brainy said. "I know where all the important vaults are. Supposing the thief also knows, we should be able to catch him."

----------

Lightning Lad squirmed uncomfortably. He still wasn't completely sure what Brainy had in mind, but he was willing to trust the android, for the time being. He had yet to understand why they didn't _all_ wait to apprehend the thief. Instead, it was he, Saturn Girl and Timberwolf that lay in wait while Brainiac 5 did who-knows-what who-knows-where.

Hearing footsteps, Lightning Lad stiffened. Could this be it? Was the thief coming? Before Lightning Lad had a chance to move, or shout warning, his muscles stiffened and a numbing pain shot up his spine. Lightning Lad slowly collapsed to the cold, hard ground, his mind whirling. _What the… a stun? I've been shot!_ He realized. Slowly, gently, a blanket of smothering darkness descended upon his consciousness, and then… nothingness.

----------

Timberwolf's sharp ears caught the sound of something thudding to the floor maybe forty yards away. He frowned, waiting to hear if Saturn Girl or Lightning Lad had spotted anyone yet. Nothing. Absolute, dead silence. Glancing in all directions, Timberwolf saw nothing. Concentrating, he listened for a single sound. There, not more than five feet away… scuffling. Too close to be Lightning Lad, that left only one possible option…Timberwolf slid to the floor instantly, just in time to duck a near-invisible beam of blue light that penetrated where he had been moments ago.

Timberwolf spun around and leapt on the attacker, or where he judged they would be from where the shot originated.

His fist connected with something solid, and whoever it was fell back with a grunt. Timberwolf pressed the attack, calling for Saturn Girl and Lightning Lad. In less than a minute, Timberwolf was straddling the thief, and Saturn Girl contacted Brainy.

What seemed a mere second later, Brainiac 5 rounded the corner, attempting to carry Lightning Lad. "Neuron stun," He said simply. "Now, let's see if my hypothesis was correct."

Timberwolf had secured the thief by handcuffing 'no-name' and leaning him against the wall, after which he and Saturn Girl seemed content to glare at the troublemaker.

Brainiac 5 moved forward and removed the elaborate head gear worn by 'no-name'. Raising his eyebrows, he turned away from the thief. "Excellent," He said. "In that case, I shall depart," then he promptly "departed", leaving Timberwolf and Saturn Girl to stare in shock at a disgruntled Kytori Randor.

----------

"We have apprehended the Thief," Brainy told Tylew Randor. "You should be very pleased."

Tylew Randor nodded. "I am," he said. "Now, I need to report this, if you don't mind."

Brainiac 5 nodded, and moved to stand just left of the Banker. He glanced at the banker, then carefully walked behind him. Suddenly, he snatched the older man's wrists and locked them into handcuffs.

"Yes, Mr. Randor, very pleased, aren't we?" Brainy said. "Just because your niece has a criminal record doesn't mean you'll be getting away with this. _She_ was the accomplice, but you were the mastermind behind all this."

Stiffening, Tylew Randor's rather nervous-looking face contorted into a malicious scowl. "You have no proof," He hissed. "You can't do this."

"Proof?" Brainy scoffed. "I have all the hidden, un-altered security footage, your niece, and computer files. Proof enough."

With a roar, the broad-shouldered ex-banker struggled against the small android.

"Hey!" Superman yelled from behind the two of them, "Get your hands off my friend!"

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A/N: Sorry this took so long! I was stuck, but now it's finally here! …again, sorry for the wait… I''m So glad it's almost over, 'cuz I've never actually written a mystery story before, much less a mystery fanfic.


	7. Epilogue

Epilogue:

"And so, once I found the original footage, it was simple to locate the vault they'd concealed Superman in," Brainy finished. "Once I let him out, I headed back to meet Timberwolf, Lightning Lad and Saturn Girl, to make sure my suspicions as to the accomplice were accurate, and then apprehended the key criminal in this very convoluted mystery." He sighed. "I do hope something like this doesn't happen too often," he said. "Or even ever again. This entire experience has been most disturbing."

"So long as Superman doesn't get captured, things would be much easier," Timberwolf agreed.

"Yeah, well, It'd be a whole lot harder to subdue me if I had my powers," Superman said. "You've got to give me a little credit!"

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Lightning Lad said. "But you know someone will always tease you about it when you least want them to. It's the nature of the beast."

"Watch it," Timberwolf grumbled.

"I wasn't specifically implying you, but if the shoe fits…"

"_So that's it then?" _Bouncing boy asked from the communicator screen. _"That's the rest of the story, the end, they all lived happily ever after?"_

Briny looked slightly confused. "Well, I highly doubt that Tylew or Kytori will live happily ever after, but…"

"_Yeah, yeah, I know." _Bouncing boy sighed, shaking his head. He really _did_ need to stop using metaphors when speaking with Brainy. _"Well, we should be there to pick you up in a few minutes. Pack your bags."_

"Affirmative," Brainiac 5 said, relief flooding his mind. Another criminal in custody, another mystery solved.

All in a day's work…

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A/N: Yes, yes, I know. This was super-short. SORRY!!! The END!!! NO MORE!!! FINÉ!! (Sure took me long enough…)


End file.
